Brenton Devanny has a broad commercial practice. He has a focus on insolvency, banking and finance, commercial arbitration and corporations law.
Brenton appears both unled and as a junior in all jurisdictions.
Brenton holds a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne (with a focus on International Insolvency and Arbitration) as well as a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce.
Experience
At the Bar, Brenton has a broad commercial practice, including:
- applying for urgent interlocutory injunctions;
- trustee claims under the Bankruptcy Act, in particular for sale of vested property;
- defending appeals to the Federal Court (unled) against orders for sale, including opposing applications for a stay pending appeal;
- successfully appealing in the Federal Court (unled) to the extent that a bankrupt's property was 'protected' under the Bankruptcy Act;
- applications for annulments of bankruptcy, both for and against;
- disputes conterning Personal Insolvency Agreements or Debt Agreements;
- disputes concerning Creditor’s Statutory Demands;
- antecedent transaction litigation such as unfair preference, uncommercial transaction and unreasonable director-related transaction litigation;
- disputes over property secured under the Personal Property Securities Act;
- applications by liquidators and trustees for orders and directions, including remuneration applications;
- commercial disputes, including construction disputes;
- caveat disputes;
- lease disputes, including Retail Leases and Residential Tenancies;
- mediations and commercial arbitrations;
- civil appeals.
Brenton has also acted in a high profile recognition of a foreign bankruptcy under the UNCITRAL Model Law incorporated into the Cross-Border Insolvency Act, which involved a dispute over the location of the bankrupt's 'Centre of Main Interests'. See Kapila, in the matter of Edelsten [2014] FCA 1112.
Brenton is also a contributing author to Lexis Nexis' Bankruptcy Law and Practice in the areas of:
- Court's jurisdiction in bankruptcy;
- Acts of bankruptcy;
- Creditors' petitions;
- Voluntary bankruptcy; and
- Bankruptcy of deceased estates.
Brenton read with Peter Fary and his senior mentor was Garry Bigmore QC.